Kate, the Curious ... this is just TOO easy

Kate, the Curious by Katheryn Kimbrough
published by Popular Library
Copyright 1976

Sage of the Phenwick Women
KATE,
THE CURIOUS
is one of the spellbinding novels in the greatest
series of gothic romance ever conceived.
You won't want to miss the others,
all exclusively in Popular Library editions.

The world knew Kate Phenwick as a ravishingly beauti-
ful young woman. (we must assume that is NOT her
on the over) But secretly Kate suspected there
was more to herself than anyone around her imagined,
or than she dared confess even to those she loved.

Within her Kate felt the spirits of the dead stirring and
struggling for her soul. In her dreams she moved be-
yond the grave to envision scenes and dramas that both
filled her with fear and lured her to press ever deeper
into the dark unknown. From one great Phenwick man-
sion to another she moved on the trail of the mystery
that bewildered her, and the shadowy fate that beck-
oned to her. Then, in the arms of a handsome stranger
from a distant place, she found herself at last on the
threshold of the truth in all its terror - a truth to be dis-
covered only by her surrender to the ultimate posses-
sion ....

God lord, what can't you say about this book. First it cleverly sucks you in thinking that it may be a little risqué. But then, like a bucket of cold water, you are smacked with what has to be the ugliest dress ever conceived being modeled by a most frightening woman. The dress with its horrid colors, terrifying pattern, and gorilla suit fit. The woman with her Crayola eyebrows and Star Trek make-up. I suspect that the house would run from her.

But, I don't what to leave everyone heartbroken with disappointment, so I will share with you another little gem I picked up in a dusty little bookstore out of state this weekend.

NOW THAT'S SOME COVER ART BABY! You go Gray Morrow!

My next blog? We'll see.

Chateau Chaumand

Chateau Chaumand by Andrea Delmonico
published by: Ace Books
Copyright 1968

Chateau Chaumand

An ominous storm was brewing the night Geraldine (Really? Geraldine?)
arrived at Chateau Chaumand as bride of Charles Chau-
mand. After a whirlwind courtship Charles had swept
her away with him to his gracious but intimidating home,
a vast resort on a lake in Wisconsin.

Vaguely apprehensive before meeting his family,
Geraldine too soon became aware of real, definite fear.
Someone at the chateau resented her sudden marriage
to Charles. Was it the Indian girl, Fawn, who had loved
Charles? Or her husband's handsome cousin, Matt, who
rivaled Charles for mastery over the estate ... and cov-
eted Charles' new bride?

Whoever it was, Geraldine was certain the "acci-
dents" pursuing her was the intentional acts of a
murderer ...

You might be asking yourself why I would shell out cash for a book with such a large tear in the cover. Well there are, in fact, three reasons:

Firstly, it is a "EASY TO READ - LARGE TYPE" and one never knows when a dreadful tragedy might strike that would leave you with a Vincent Price "Fall of the House of Usher" sensitivity to light. A sensitivity that would force me to read only by the barest amount of candle light, therefore making large type books quite useful.

Secondly, my husband and I once drove 10 hours to attend a Halloween Party in Wisconsin were we happened upon a very cheap haunted house that had actually stolen nearly all of dialogue from Disney World's Haunted Mansion and used it in ways that made no sense.

And thirdly, and most importantly, the publisher actually thought this book was so packed with sexual tension that it was wagering we readers would need a smoke somewhere between pages 64 and 65.

Newport, your "Alive with pleasure" ad is dated and oh so cheesy but Kent, as always you are a class act.

Rebecca, the Mysterious

Rebecca, the Mysterious by Katheryn Kimbrough
published by: Popular Library
Copyright 1975

The Saga of the Phenwick Women

REBECCA,
THE MYSTERIOUS

in one of the spellbinding novels in the greatest
series of gothic romances ever conceived.
You won't want to miss the others,
all exclusively in Popular Library editions.

Bewitching Rebecca Phenwick's young life had
been scarred by a brutal abduction by a runaway
slave, and her loving father and strangely hostile
mother agreed on one thing: Rebecca should go t
the old family mansion of the Phenwick House to
escape the memories of the harm done to her.

It was at Phenwick House that Rebecca first saw
the portrait of her ancestress Augusta Phenwick,
and began to delve into the eerie books of the occult
in the Phenwick archives. It was in this house that
had witnessed so many horrors that Rebecca
learned of her legacy as a Phenwick - the evil that
was waiting to be awakened within her, and her
weakness in the arms of a man who sought to
possesses her body and soul ...

For the life of me I can't figure out WHY I don't read these books! Rebecca, the Mysterious has just about anything anyone could ever want. Abduction, the Occult, and old house, even a cover whose "Bob Ross" style tree completely destroys the perspective. (Is she behind it? Or is it behind her?) And that woman's hand seem really large to me.

If anyone has read any of the Phenwick Women Books I would love to know if they are really as great as they always sound.

Reception at High Tower

Reception at High Tower by Dewey Ward
published by Dell Books
Copyright 1969
Cover Illustration: Robert McGinnis

THE MONSTROUS TRUTH OF HIGH TOWER

When Maurie Thomas returned against her will to
High Tower, it was as if she were setting foot in her
ancestral manor for the first time. The lovely young
girl had but recently emerged from the darkness of
insanity, and her memory had been destroyed.

But if she did not know the strange secret of High
Tower, there were those who did. Her imperious
grandmother, with her bitter hate for Maurie ... her
father, seeking solace in drink ... the silent, hand-
some groom ... the whispering servants.

Here, where the very walls and corridors seemed
rank with evil, Maurie felt rising from the icy depths
of her mind the horror that would not let her go.

Hooray, we have a McGinnis illustration. And what a fabulous job. I love this cover. The house is awesome and the chick truly look like she is insane. I totally buy it. I'm not sure if it is the nightgown falling from her shoulders, the bizarre way her left arm hangs dead at her side or even the weird way her long finger touch she face but she seems absolutely mad.

Born in Ohio in 1926, Robert McGinnis studied art at the Ohio State University and at the Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati, Ohio. With more than 11,000 book cover along with magazine illustrations and movie posters it would be hard not to have seen his work at some time or other.

Joanne, the Unpredictable

Joanne, the Unpredictable by Katheryn Kimbrough
published by Popular Books
Copyright 1976

The Saga of the Phenwick Women
JOANNE,
THE UNPREDICTABLE

is one of the spellbinding novels in the greatest
series of gothic romances ever conceived.
You won't want to miss the others,
exclusively in Popular Library editions.

Joanne was the most stunningly beautiful and danger-
ously wilful of all the Phenwick women. (WOW, that is
really saying something) Even before she reached
the age of twenty, she knew how to be all
things to all men in order to turn them into puppets of
her desire. And from the moment she arrived at Merrihew
Manor, the ancestral Phenwick family estate in England,
she began to cast her spell over everyone from her
elegant, aristocratic cousin, to the handsome, virile
master of the neighboring property, to the worldly,
irresistibly charming man of the theater who was visiting
from London.

Life at Merrihew Manor was a whirling, intoxicating
masked ball of romance for Joanne - until she realized
the occult horror that ruled this ancient place, and felt
the tightening embraced of a satanic force that neither
her beauty nor her guile could disarm or deceive ...

Joanne really is unpredictable if only for the conservative cut of her gown. I would think that in order to wield such incredible power over men, a little more skin would be involved. But what would I know, I mean, If I could turn men into puppets of my desire, I would have the cleanest house EVER!

Olivia, the Tormented

Olivia the Tormented by Katheryn Kimbrough
published by Popular Library
Copyright 1976

Sage of the Phenwick Women
OLIVIA,
THE TORMENTED

is one of the spellbinding novels in the greatest
series of gothic romances ever conceived -
THE SAGO OF THE PHENWICK WOMEN.
You won't want to miss the others,
exclusively in Popular Library editions.

The ghostly spirit of Augusta Phenwick predicted that
the future bride of handsome, virile Joshua Phenwick
would be named Olivia - but now Joshua was forced to
choose between three incredibly tempting women who
bore that name. One was lovely, aristocratic Olivia
Loring. One was the captivating actress, Olivia Prit-
chard. And one was the breathtaking Italian noble-
woman, Olivia di Luca.

One of these women would make marriage a paradise.
One would make it a hell. One could well turn it into
a grave. But until the terrifying night in an ancient Eng-
lish manor when their true natures were unmasked, each
was a creature of menacing mystery, as against a glit-
tering background of high society and satanic intrigue,
the eeriest and most spellbinding chapter of the Phen-
wick saga mounted to its shattering climax ...

If it were me, I would rule out the chic that would make marriage hell. And the one who would, more than likely, turn it into a grave would definitely be out of the running. So, once again, where is the dilemma? Do men never use logic when picking a woman? Does nothing matter but looks? I mean really, I don't care how good looking a man is, if he is threatening me with a bottle of acid, I'm not going to find him hot.

The Stranger at the Gate

The Stranger at the Gate by Jospehine Edgar
published by Pocket Books
Copyright 1973

Forbidden Legacy

As she drew nearer the great hall, Sarah
fought back the fear and dark memories that
had made her a stranger at its gates. Six years
ago she had been a baronet's daughter, and this
had been her home. Now, sixteen and father-
less, she was an actress begging her aunt, Lady
Sefton, to take her back.

But her aunt drove her away with the bitter
words that Sarah was not a Sefton, and worse,
that her true father was unknown.

Cruelly hurt, Sarah vowed there would come
a day of reckoning - when Lady Sefton would
be humbled and Sarah would again rule her
ancestral mansion.

It seems to me that Lady Sefton was justified is not really liking Sarah. Firstly, she is sixteen. No one can get along with a sixteen year old. Secondly, she is an actress and teenage actresses tend to be a bit self-centered. Add that to the fact that she is a power hunger bastard and I would have driven here away too.

Now publishing is an expensive business and so is marketing. There is a story that goes around in the industry of a man who says he wastes half of the money he spends on market but he just doesn't know which half. Well Pocket Books was too smart for that. If they were going to press anyway, they were going to sell a little ad space. And if they were going to sell ad space, they wanted to make sure it worked for their target audience.

Who was their target audience? Well, let just say they covered all their bases.



The young.



The middle aged.



The old.

True marketing genius.

The Tuscany Madonna

The Tuscany Madonna by Miriam Canfield
published by Magnum Books
Copyright 1965

a strange proposal

Strangely impelled by her
father, lovely, spirited
Denise de Bonneville accepts
the wealthy stranger
Brian Cowle's unorthodox
proposal of a 'Marriage
Blanc' - a union in name
only - to save the family's
ancestral chateau Les
Cedres, which houses the
priceless painting of
the Madonna by Raphael.
By authority of the family
will, the rare painting
can not be removed from
the estate.

Reluctantly, Denise returns
to the sullen and isolated
chateau which she feared
in her childhood. Now as
a bride - surrounded by
strangers and without the
protection of her beloved
parents - Denise senses
that Les Cedres is more
ominous and filled with
unexplicable (this is not my typo) danger.

When her withdrawn
husband locks himself
and the painting in his
private chambers, Denise
knows she must fight the
enigmatic forces which
engulf her ... She knows
she must unbolt to door
to survive.

Okay, this one just sounds good. It maybe because it has a little bit of "Night of Dark Shadows" going on with it.

The cover art has an odd finish to is but I like it. It also looks to be signed "Avalon".

The Lute and the Glove

The Lute and the Glove by Katherine Wigmore Eyre
published by Ace Books
Copyright 1955

"Fine psychological
thriller ...
one of the best."
-SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

"THE LUTE AND THE GLOVE is an
entertaining novel which holds the reader
in bone-thrilling suspense to the end as it
probes the strange affinity of a red-haired
American heroine for the Tudor mansion
of her ancestors.

"The past is not dead for Anne Carey
at the centuries-old estate she visits after
her father's death. Although summer
blooms outside, she alone sees a winter's
rain on non-existent window panes and
a clandestine meeting of lovers, one of
them her double.

"How Anne learns the identity of these
two, and how she escapes from them, pro-
vide unusual suspense."
- WASHINGTON POST TIMES-HERALD

Wow, this book cover holds a total of 4 reviews. The San Francisco Examiner with its "one of the best" and with The San Francisco Chronicle says it belongs on the "bone-chiller shelf". So what is this "provides unusual suspense" crap from the Washington Post? Did the reviewer even bother to read it? It sounds like a book report you write when you didn't even manage to rent the movie.

"George Orwell's Animal Farm provides an important lesson through barnyard antics."

Just seems like the reviewer is just not committed to the project. If you've got the ego to feel you can judge for others you really need to own it. Go for "You call that a suspense?" or "She actually being a man was obvious from the first." If you're not going to read it, be bold! Have some balls.